7 Great Tips for Selecting the Best Growth Lights - 2021 Updated

LED grow lights for indoor plants are likewise considerably cooler to some extent because of the diminishment of power utilization. The issue with numerous grow lights is the warmth that they deliver, which makes you burn through cash on different parts of your grow task too.

The hotter your grow room stays, the more air you should move through the room, and the more consideration you should pay to the temperature constantly.

That likewise implies that LED grow lights are substantially easier on the environment. With the consideration being brought to ecological concerns, a worldwide temperature alteration, and the eventual fate of the world, it is anything but difficult to perceive any reason why individuals would probably incline toward an all the more environment friendly alternative.

That is the place LED grow lights succeed. The gigantic lessening in CO2 emanations, notwithstanding power utilization, implies that the earth will be appreciative. LED grow lights additionally don’t need to be discarded in a specific way like HPS lighting frameworks do.

Grow lights containing mercury should be professionally discarded in a way that requires extraordinary consideration following a few years because of the shorter time span of usability. LED grow lights can keep going quite a while and after that be discarded after very nearly ten years of utilization without worrying about hurting the earth simultaneously.

There are some great reasons to use LED grow lights:

You have more control over your plants

The right temperature is critical to ensuring your plants don’t get burned or wilt. Optimal growth means the right balance of warmth and cool. LED lights produce less heat and don’t get as hot to the touch, and are therefore far less likely to damage your plants.

LED grow lights also give you more control over wavelength and even wattage. This allows you to manage the light intensity and wavelength your plant will receive at each stage. Many come with dimmer switches and other precision controls. LEDs also allow you to better plan for unique grows and provide better coverage by configuring multiple lights.

They run cool and eliminate the need to ventilate

No one needs the added expense of a separate ventilation or cooling system. LED grow lights give you intense light without nearly as much heat. No cooling or ventilation system means an additional energy savings.

Easy to install and portable

Installation is typically just following a few steps, very simple. Made with modern materials, these lights are easily portable and relatively compact.

Many LED grow light models are small, and can be configured together. This allows you to combine them to cover larger areas and unusual spaces.

More energy-efficient and cost-effective

LED grow lights have long life spans—between 50,000 and 100,000 hours, or 7 to 8 years on average, typically. LEDs are also more energy-efficient than any other type of light based on output and power drawn.

Disposing

Fluorescent lights are built with mercury as one of its main components. When it burns out, you are left with a chunk of bonafide poison in your hands that can’t be recycled or reused. Mercury is very dangerous to the environment and it is estimated that one gram of this dangerous substance can pollute up to 20 acres of water surface. It is still one of the main contributors to fish poisoning. Remember those horrifying images of piles and piles of dead fish that you have probably seen in a nature TV program? That happens when mercury enters the water.

Incandescent lights, on the other hand, are built with heavy metal parts. The most important piece of an incandescent light bulb is its shining filament. In layman’s terms, it is that piece of wire inside the bulb that emits light and it can be made out of chromium, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, osmium, molybdenum and tungsten. Once they start breaking, you are essentially throwing away dangerous and poisonous metals plus these metals are very hard to find in nature, and if the trend of harvesting these materials continues, we will be left with a shortage.

LEDs are made out of pieces of plastic which make them easier to recycle. They have no dangerous chemicals (well, apart from plastic) or rare materials that can be used for a better purpose.

Direction Of Light

Unlike other light sources, LEDs are so small that they can be conveniently placed on a flat surface. This means that it is easy to manipulate LED grow lights and make them shine in any direction you want. Other light bulbs send light all around. Since LEDs are small, they emit a direct light beam in a specified direction. Your light will no longer be bouncing off the walls and ceiling but directed to where it can do the best.

ECO Farm ECO Series 120W LED Grow Light

Pros:

• Less expensive with more than enough power


• Daisy chain ready


• Epileds LED chipset


• Lasts 50,000 hours


• 2 Year warranty


• ECO Farm LED grow light is with best service

Cons:

• Not quite a professional grade light but does the job


• A bit flimsy compared to others on the list

Niello 600W COB LED Grow Light

Pros:

• High Yields


• Highest PPFD PAR values


• Large grow area


• Deep canopy penetration


• High-quality plants result

Cons:

• Expensive

Now that LEDs are widely used by growers from different parts of the world, different versions arrive in the market. But instead of convincing you to buy from a single brand, we’ll let you decide on the product to buy. So, here are some tips and questions to answer so you can choose the LED grow lights:

• Look for chips

To make sure that your plants will grow, it has to have the right chips. In this case, the LED grow light that you should choose is the one with at least 3 watts. Any LED with less than 3 watts will not give your plants enough light coverage that can help them grow. Thus, every chip in the LED should have 3 watts since a 3 watts chip provides the best lighting solution.

You can notice this in blues, reds, and white LEDs so beware of those that only offer 1 watt each. Using 3 chips with 1 watt just to meet this requirement will not work either.

• Check the total output

Just like any other lighting solutions, you should also check its product description for the total output. Check the total number of units that the lamp has since it can also affect its produced amount of light. Some LED grow lights are built with 300, 400, 600, and even 1,000W. Before you head to the counter, check if it has at least 300W first. The higher the wattage the better since you can compensate for the loss of wattage over time.

• Consider its spectrum

Plants may grow under different kinds of light. However, it requires a specific amount of wavelength and spectrum to help them in photosynthesis. The best LEDs for growing indoor plants can provide a full spectrum that is necessary from their growth.

In this case, it should be able to provide enough amount of blues and reds as well as ultraviolet, and infrared. Depending on your plants’ stage of growth, their needed spectrum may also change to help them during the photosynthesis process.

• Look for its cooling aspects

Generally, LEDs produce less heat so a cooling system is not really necessary on some units. But since you’d be keeping these lamps on for more than 10 hours a day, you better check its cooling aspects. There are units with internal fans to protect the lamp from burning fast as well as your plants. The heat that comes out behind the bulbs should be protected with a cooling system to avoid burning its chips.

• Growing space

If LEDs vary in color, it also varies in size. Thus, be sure to measure the space you want to grow your plants to determine the exact size to buy. You also need to measure the lighting area to make sure that every plant you have is well-lighted. For high-light plants, you should have at least 32W/sq. ft. LEDs while low-light plants should have at least 11-18W/sq. ft.

• Ease of use

One of the most important things to look for when choosing an LED grow light is its ease of use. The best-LED lights for growing indoor plants should not give you a hard time while operating it. It should be flexible so you can adjust its lights depending on the kind of plant you have. At the same time, its growth stage should determine your LED’s placement.

• Longevity

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but there is nothing more irritating for me than entering a room, flicking a switch and finding out that the light bulb has burnt out. Since we use lights only in the dark, that means that this annoying phenomenon keeps occurring in the worst part of the day i.e. in the night when all the hardware stores are inconveniently closed. I can’t even start to recall how many times my foot has found it’s demise stepping on a sharp and pointy object.

However, with LEDs,  this can be a thing of past or at least it can occur less frequently. LEDs are generally praised as being super resistant and durable. One LED light  has a lifespan approximately 40 times longer than an incandescent light bulb.  As for the fluorescent light bulbs, you would have to replace it up to 6 times than your average LED lamp.

When your best option to keep your plants alive is to keep them inside, it’s all on your artificial lighting. Seedlings, for instance, need extra care and bright light since insufficient light makes them weak and thin. Even if you put them in your windowsill that receives the most amount of sunlight, it may not be enough. Regardless of the kind of indoor plant you have, there are different brands and LED grow lights to choose from. Some can be too intense while others may provide insufficient lighting so be sure to read each product’s detail.